Astronomers detect water in one of the oldest known galaxies
[ad_1]
Astronomers have detected traces of water in one of the oldest known galaxies, proving for the first time that the life-giving substance played a role in the formation of the earliest stars.
The galaxy, called SPT0311-58, is located some 12.88 billion light-years from Earth, which means that telescopes see it as it looked like only 1 billion years after the Big Bang.
Astronomers estimate that the galaxy is only 780 million years old, an age at which stars formed at a much higher rate than they do in more mature galaxies.
The observation, the most distant (and oldest) detection of water in the universe, was made by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a powerful radio telescope consisting of 66 radio antennas located in northern Chile in the Atacama Desert.
In addition to water, ALMA also detected carbon monoxide in this galaxy.
Related: Scientists think they’ve spotted the farthest galaxy in the universe
“Using high-resolution ALMA observations of molecular gas in the pair of galaxies known collectively as SPT0311-58 we detected both water and carbon monoxide molecules in the larger of the two galaxies,” Sreevani Jarugula, an astronomer at the University of Illinois and the principal investigator on the new study, said in a statement. “Oxygen and carbon, in particular, are first-generation elements, and in the molecular forms of carbon monoxide and water, they are critical to life as we know it.”
SPT0311-58, discovered by ALMA in 2017, is the most massive currently known galaxy of this ancient age and, in fact, consists of two galaxies that appear to be merging. It has more gas and dust compared to galaxies at closer distances, which are more mature, scientists said in the statement.
“[SPT0311-58] gives us plenty of potential opportunities to observe abundant molecules and to better understand how these life-creating elements impacted the development of the early universe,” Jaragula added.
Astronomers currently don’t understand how such a huge amount of gas and dust assembled in the young universe to form first stars and early galaxies. They, however, know that stars in young galaxies form at a thousand times greater rate than in the Milky Way, Jaragula said.
“Studying the gas and dust content of these early galaxies informs us of their properties, such as how many stars are being formed, the rate at which gas is converted into stars, how galaxies interact with each other and with the interstellar medium, and more,” he said.
Water is the third most common molecule in the universe after hydrogen and carbon monoxide and some studies suggest that it might be used as a signature of star formation.
“This exciting result, which shows the power of ALMA, adds to a growing collection of observations of the early universe,” Joe Pesce, an astrophysicist and ALMA Program Director at the National Science Foundation, said in the statement. “These molecules, important to life on Earth, are forming as soon as they can, and their observation is giving us insight into the fundamental processes of a universe very much different from today’s.”
The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal on Wednesday (Nov. 3).
Follow Tereza Pultarova on Twitter @TerezaPultarova. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
[ad_2]
Original Post
Good write-up, I¦m normal visitor of one¦s blog, maintain up the excellent operate, and It is going to be a regular visitor for a lengthy time.
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!
It’s actually a nice and useful piece of information. I’m happy that you simply shared this useful information with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
There may be noticeably a bundle to learn about this. I assume you made sure nice points in options also.
Sweet site, super style and design, real clean and apply pleasant.
I do like the manner in which you have framed this particular problem and it does offer me personally a lot of fodder for thought. On the other hand, through what I have personally seen, I simply just hope when the remarks pile on that men and women continue to be on issue and don’t get started on a soap box of the news du jour. Yet, thank you for this superb point and even though I can not necessarily agree with it in totality, I respect the point of view.
What is FlowForce Max? FlowForce Max Advanced Formula is a holistic blend designed to promote optimal prostate health
You actually make it seem so easy along with your presentation but I find this topic to be actually something that I think I’d never understand. It sort of feels too complex and extremely vast for me. I’m taking a look ahead in your subsequent submit, I’ll attempt to get the dangle of it!
I got what you mean , regards for posting.Woh I am delighted to find this website through google. “Food is the most primitive form of comfort.” by Sheila Graham.
Good blog! I truly love how it is easy on my eyes and the data are well written. I’m wondering how I could be notified when a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your RSS feed which must do the trick! Have a nice day!
I conceive other website owners should take this site as an example , very clean and excellent user genial layout.
you are really a good webmaster. The website loading pace is incredible. It kind of feels that you are doing any unique trick. Furthermore, The contents are masterwork. you have performed a great activity in this subject!
What Is Sugar Defender? Sugar Defender is a new blood sugar-balancing formula that has been formulated using eight clinically proven ingredients that work together to balance sugar levels.
With havin so much content do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright infringement? My website has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my agreement. Do you know any ways to help protect against content from being ripped off? I’d truly appreciate it.
Hi would you mind letting me know which webhost you’re using? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you recommend a good web hosting provider at a reasonable price? Cheers, I appreciate it!